Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2018

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Suddenly, it was our last night. We gath-
ered around the hotel pool for a beer before
dinner, and for the fi rst time all week, our
group was mostly silent. The information
was sinking in, but with each piece had come
a desire for more, and a long list of additional
questions. Rachel asked Zack if he had any
samples of Cima, Oro, and Intenso she could
take home to play with at Esmeralda, and
was delighted that he did. Tim chatted with
Aida about visiting early in 2018 to exper-
iment with some fresh-picked cherry at J.
Hill, much like Peter had done all those years
ago. Peter had approached the experiment
with just an idea and an itch to investigate.
Tim looked forward to referencing the proto-
cols supplied by Lallemand and Scott Labs,
but also going off-book, Aida-style, and doing
some rogue experiments, as well.
If there's one thing coffee professionals all
have in common it's an insatiable curiosity
for how we might approach all facets of
how we understand coffee, from picking to
processing to serving, and everything in
between. It was no surprise that other roast-
ers have done some tests and trials with the
LalCafé yeasts. I talked with Andrew Timko
of Blueprint Coffee in St. Louis about his
company's experience using yeast in lots at
Finca Esperanza in the Cerro Pecul region of
Guatemala. Andrew explained how Blueprint
sources its coffee from one specifi c section of
the farm, which is operated by Ana Vizcaino
that is all Catuai grown at an altitude of
1,200–1,300 meters above sea level. He says
that the coffees fermented through yeast
inoculation from Ana's farm received high
marks from various Q-graders, and sparked
a lot of interesting conversations surround-
ing the potential for improving quality.
"Blueprint is using the yeast to help
establish a baseline in improving overall
quality throughout Ana's entire process," he
says. "Yeast cannot be perceived as the sole
actor in changing quality, but a catalyst. The
yeast did improve the quality of the coffee
signifi cantly. We were able to expend the fer-
mentation time beyond a 'comfortable' range
merely because of the standards that need to
be in place for their success."
Tim from Counter Culture is still
reserved, though he describes himself as
a skeptic at heart, so that's natural, more
or less. "I have learned it is often better to
enter into ideas and experimentation as a
blank sheet and open to anything. So for the
moment I am agnostic," he says about what
he has learned about using yeast to control
quality and taste variables in coffee process-
ing. "What I will say [is that] I have tasted
samples that have surprised me and have
Expected benefits of coffee fermentation control through
inoculation with selected yeasts
DEVIATION RISKS MANAGEMENT: Allows for avoidance of uncontrolled
fermentation and secures consistency.
BIOCONTROL: Inoculation results in evading fi lamentous fungi growth (mold).
TIME MANAGEMENT: Faster fermentation and better mucilage removal.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT: Flavor improvement.
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